Re-potting Venus Flytraps
Re-potting a Venus Flytrap is an easy way to give it more room for growth. It also ensures that the plant gets enough water, which can be difficult in smaller pots. If you follow these steps, your flytrap will thrive after re-potting. It’s best to do this when the soil has dried out completely between watering periods (usually about a week).
You need to re-pot Venus flytrap annually to keep its potting medium fresh. It’s worth noting that the potting medium is bound to become compacted over time, making it challenging for the plant to grow new roots effectively.
Generally, you can re-pot the plant most times of the year, except in the dormancy phase during winter. Additionally, you should not re-pot your plant when it’s actively flowering.
If you enjoy this article you might also like this one we wrote about Venus Flytrap Terrariums
What you will need to transplant your Venus flytrap
Apart from ensuring that you have the correct growing medium, you should also consider the type of pot. While this is a relatively small plant in size, it has an extensive root system, which means that it grows relatively deep. As a result, you should consider choosing a pot with good depth.
A pot with a minimum depth of four inches would be the most ideal as the roots can develop extensively and deeply while ensuring that most water is effectively kept away from the rhizomes.
Besides that, you have to consider insulation when choosing the type of pot. Of course, if you are growing your plant indoors, that insulation ceases to become a thing of importance since the temperature is controlled. However, it would be best if you considered a pot that leaves adequate room around the rhizomes. This is important because it will allow the potting medium to effectively buffer the rhizomes from excess heat and cold.
During the re-potting process, you need materials such as:
- The new pot
- Water
- Soil/growing medium
- Scissors and tweezers (optional)
When choosing the pot, consider the material, its drainage system, and its dimensions. In terms of material, plastic material is the best. However, you can opt to use a glazed ceramic pot as well. These materials are considered the most ideal since they effectively provide good insulation and don’t easily result in leakages.
Some people may opt to use metallic or glass pots for decorative purposes. However, they are not ideal for providing the much-needed insulation during winter. You may also think it is okay to use clay pots and terracotta since they are prominently used in the gardening community. However, these materials are not recommended as they easily result in leakages and may leak nutrients into the soil.
The approximate pot dimensions should be 2-6 inches wide, and the depth should be 4-6 inches. You should choose the dimensions that complement your plant but remember that your Venus flytrap will grow bigger.
The drainage of the pot is vital in keeping the soil wet. While you can grow your plant in a pot without a drainage hole, this isn’t advisable.
The water options are still the same, and you have three options to choose from:
- Distilled water
- Rainwater
- Reverse osmosis water
The soil options are the same as mentioned above, but how do you effectively prepare a plant for potting?
Depending on where you have cultivated your plant, you need to remove it. To ensure that your plant remains hydrated and reduces the risk of injuries, use distilled or rainwater to loosen the soil. After that, you can carefully squeeze the container’s edges and slowly pull the plant out.
Re-potting usually results in stress in the plants, and you might notice significant changes after a few days. Generally, the Venus flytrap plant is highly adaptive, and its leaves can effectively handle some of the stress. But it would be best if you were extremely careful with the plant, especially the delicate parts such as the bulbs or rhizomes.
Before we begin the step-by-step guide of the re-potting process, you will have to ensure that the soil is mixed with water thoroughly. It’s advisable to add water by parts since the moss component of the soil medium will quickly absorb a lot of water. Take your time and add more water until you notice that all the growing medium is moist.
Steps to Re-pot your Venus Flytrap
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After you have successfully re-potted the plant, make sure that the soil remains moist at all times by using the recommended types of water. Besides that, you shouldn’t feed your Venus flytrap for two weeks and avoid any kind of fertilizer supply. Your plant, at this point, is struggling with environmental stress and shouldn’t be exposed to further tensions. Just make sure that you give it enough lighting. The appropriate amount of lighting after re-potting is at least 6 hours of light.
Soil Type and Ratio For Re-potting Venus Flytraps
This carnivorous plant tends to thrive in poor and acidic soils. However, you need to ensure that the growing medium is damp and has a sound drainage system. Generally, a 2/3 sphagnum peat moss and 1/3 sand blend usually provide the best soil with good moisture retention and drainage system.
Note: You can buy the soil ready-made or simply make some yourself. If you decide to make the soil, here are the different soil types and ratios that you should consider:
- 2:1 or 4:1 sphagnum moss and perlite ratio
- 2:1 or 4:1 peat moss and silica sand ratio
- 2:1 or 4:1 ratio peat moss and perlite ratio
- 2:1 or 4:1 ratio sphagnum moss and silica sand ratio
Don't feel like mixing your own carnivorous soils?
We recommend these options from Amazon for Venus Flytraps
Generally, most of the soil should be made of moss due to its moisture-retaining characteristics and less draining agent. That’s why some people opt for sphagnum moss and mix peat with sand or perlite. This is a good combination that will still deliver excellent results.
If making the mixture yourself, use pure ingredients and avoid anything enriched with nutrients. If you, can you should consider buying 100% pure moss minus added nutrients.
Generally, most of the soil should be made of moss due to its moisture-retaining characteristics and less draining agent. That’s why some people opt for sphagnum moss and mix peat with sand or perlite. This is a good combination that will still deliver excellent results.
If making the mixture yourself, use pure ingredients and avoid anything enriched with nutrients. If you, can you should consider buying 100% pure moss minus added nutrients.
Dionaea muscipula needs mineral-free water. Remember that this is a plant that doesn’t need lots of nutrients, and you must give it mineral-free water or risk killing the plant. It’s advisable to keep the pot standing in a moderate water supply. The soil should never be too dry as this will quickly lead to dehydration.
With that said, overly watered soil supply will end up attracting molds. The best sources of water, in this case, are collected rainwater and bottled distilled water. In case you are growing your plant in a fountain or pond, then the water level shouldn’t be more than half the pot’s height. This way, you will ensure that the plant’s crown doesn’t drown.
Whether you are growing the plant indoors or outdoors, the goal should be to ensure that the growing medium is wet. The Venus flytrap is a bog plant and needs enough water supply for effective maintenance in an indoor setting. It’s advisable to leave a water saucer at the pot’s base for several hours every few days, and in the summer month, you will have to hydrate your plant more frequently due to the increased water loss.
